BEDFORD – It was Jorie Allen’s first game as a high school basketball player. Road game. At Mooresville. Tough opponent.

“We’re up by two points with the ball and less than a minute to go,” said Jorie’s coach at Bedford North Lawrence Jeff Allen, who also happens to be her father. “She went driving in and took a shot. After the game I said, ‘Let’s stop and think about that for a second.’”

Jorie interjects, recalling that one-sided conversation from her freshman year.

“I don’t think those were your exact words,” she said with a smile.

Jorie Allen of Bedford North Lawrence was named 2019 Indiana Miss Basketball during the Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Hall on the campus of Butler University, Sunday, May 5, 2019.(Photo: Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar)

Bedford North Lawrence lost that game, by one point, but Allen and the Stars did not lose many more in her four seasons. Allen’s teams were 86-24 overall, winning four Class 4A sectional titles and one regional crown. Along the way, the 6-1 Indiana University recruit set a new program scoring record with 1,930 points, pulled down 943 rebounds and dished 251 assists.

On Sunday night at the IndyStar Sports Awards banquet, Allen was named the 2019 IndyStar Miss Basketball, presented by the Indiana Fever. Allen received 56 votes for the top senior individual award from the state’s coaches and media. North Harrison’s Lilly Hatton was the runner-up with 36 votes, followed by Warren Central's Shaila Beeler (32 votes) and Marquette Catholic’s Emma Nolan (20 votes).

Allen, who averaged 19.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game as a senior, is the second player from Bedford North Lawrence to win Miss Basketball, joining 1992 winner Marla Inman. Damon Bailey, who lives close to the Allens near the school, was named Mr. Basketball in 1990 after setting the state’s boys basketball scoring record that still stands.

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Athletes and guests pose on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Hall on the campus of Butler University, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Check out our gallery of must-see photos from the Indiana Sports Awards. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar

Athletes and guests pose on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Hall on the campus of Butler University, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Check out our gallery of must-see photos from the Indiana Sports Awards. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar

Athletes and guests pose on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Hall on the campus of Butler University, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Check out our gallery of must-see photos from the Indiana Sports Awards. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar

Athletes and guests pose on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Hall on the campus of Butler University, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Check out our gallery of must-see photos from the Indiana Sports Awards. Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar

VIP guests post with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

VIP guests pose with former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick on the red carpet before the 2019 Indiana Sports Awards at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Sunday, May 5, 2019. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

“It’s such an honor just to be considered for the award with the rich history of basketball in Indiana,” Allen said. “I never really played basketball for the individual awards, but (Miss Basketball) is definitely something you think about growing up in Southern Indiana playing basketball. Everybody wants to wear that No. 1 jersey.”

Allen comes from a basketball family. Her father, Jeff, graduated from Eastern Greene in 1979 before going on to play at Vincennes for two years and then at DePaul from 1981-83 for legendary coach Ray Meyer, playing alongside future NBA players like Tyrone Corbin and Terry Cummings.

Jeff and his wife, Linda, moved back to Southern Indiana from the Chicago area — where his wife is from — 12 years ago with their four children. Jeff was an assistant for the boys program and girls program before following Bailey as the girls coach in 2014-15. That team went 26-1, led by his oldest daughter, Jenna, who was an Indiana All-Star.

Like Jorie, Jenna Allen was once committed to Indiana. But when former coach Curt Miller left the program, Allen committed to Michigan State. Jorie bought a green No. 33 Michigan State jersey this year to support her sister, who scored 1,098 points during her four-year career for the Spartans, averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds last season as a senior.

“I’ll keep (the jersey) as a keepsake, but I won’t be wearing it anymore,” Jorie said. “I had a chance to go there and really liked Michigan State. But I felt the fit personality-wise was better at Indiana.”

There are similarities between Jenna and Jorie, though the younger sister is two inches shorter and more of a “face-up and attack” offensive player, while Jenna is a post player who can shoot. Jenna, who scored 1,495 career points in high school, was part of the Stars’ back-to-back Class 4A state title teams of 2013 and ’14.

“Jenna is probably a little more conservative than Jorie both from a personality standpoint and how they play the game,” Jeff Allen said. “Jenna was always directing traffic and thinking, where Jorie’s (mindset) is a little more, ‘Give me the ball and get out of the way.’ From that standpoint, she is a little more aggressive.”

That mentality came into play in the most memorable game of Jorie’s career — a 57-55 double-overtime victory over rival Jeffersonville in the 2018 sectional championship at Seymour. Allen drove to the basket as the seconds ticked down in the second overtime and drilled an 8-foot shot to give the Stars the win.

“That whole game was a blur,” she said. “There was so much emotion in that rivalry. There were times in that game I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is over.’ And then, ‘We’re going to pull this out.’ We had rehearsed that play at the end, everybody executed, and it worked perfect.”

Jorie Allen could have followed her sister to Michigan State, but decided to stay home at IU.(Photo: David R. Lutman/Special to Courier-Journal)

Bedford North Lawrence went on to win the regional that year before bowing out to Warren Central in the semistate. The Stars won four consecutive sectional titles during Allen’s tenure. There is hardly a day that goes by that she does not run into somebody in the community who wants to talk basketball.

“We have awesome fans here,” Jorie said. “The support we get from the community is unbelievable. We have a Tuesday evening game and there are so many fans here. When I committed to Indiana, we would be in town out to eat and people would come up and say there were excited I was going to Indiana. That’s a neat thing about living here. It’s a very tight-knit community.”

Jorie had little doubt she wanted to play in the Big Ten. Though she considered Iowa and Michigan State, her choice eventually came down to Indiana or Purdue. She believed in what Teri Moren, a native of Seymour, was building in Bloomington.

“My sister always said that you are around your team all the time,” Jorie said. “So you have to look at how you fit in with the personality and chemistry of the team. You look at the people you want to be around the most. I felt that way about IU.”

The Allens will enjoy having Jorie close by for the next four years. But they would have been proud no matter where she chose to attend college.

“I’m thrilled for her,” Jeff Allen said. “Being her dad and her coach, I’ve seen the hard work she has put in. She’s definitely blessed with a lot of talent, but she’s put in a lot of hard work. For her to be recognized for such a high award, I’m ecstatic for her. I want these kids who will be our future basketball players to see that and continue to dream they can accomplish their goals, too.”